Occult Rituals

It’s a common belief that only those initiated in the rites and practices of arcane, divine, or psychic magic can cast spells, but this is not strictly true. Hidden within dusty libraries and amid the ramblings of lunatics lie the mysteries of another form of spellcasting—occult ritual magic. These spells are rare, coveted by both those eager to gain their power and those wishing to hide their existence. Most traditional spellcasters consider these rituals dangerous and uncontrollable, something to be avoided or used as a last resort. They fear the power these ceremonies grant to the uninitiated, as the rituals allow those with only a glimmering of understanding the ability to interact with the underlying fabric of magic.

While anyone can attempt to cast occult rituals, the process is fraught with peril. The strange and intricate incantations are often challenging to perform with precision, and failure can weaken the casters or even unleash horrors upon the world. Even when successfully performed, each occult ritual has a price—a backlash that affects at least the caster leading the ritual, and often those assisting in its performance.Click here for the full rules on Occult Rituals.

Effect

Formulated and perfected by the Whispering Way’s most twisted minds, this ritual allows the caster to perform a number of fell rites that thoroughly defile the metaphysical soul of a specific haunt or incorporeal creature, causing its essence to coalesce into a refined ectoplasmic material that can be used to craft especially powerful magic items and artifacts. Before she can begin casting this ritual, the primary caster must draw necromantic sigils around the area to be affected and adorn them with candles, a 12-hour process. Each secondary caster participating in the ritual reduces this time by 1 hour, to a minimum of 1 hour. During the ritual, one specific incorporeal undead creature or haunt must be present within the affected area for its entire casting time. Upon completing the ritual, the primary caster can harvest material components from the specific creature or haunt as if she had the Haunt Scavenger feat, though the creature or haunt need not be destroyed or neutralized. If she already has this feat, she gains a +20 competence bonus on skill checks to harvest material components from the specific creature or haunt and the gp value of those components doubles. This process doesn’t destroy or neutralize the creature or haunt, and can be used on a specific creature or haunt only once per month.